Increase payload capacity with air bags

[Tom51]

We're looking for our next truck, have been in an F350 for 15 years. Planning for retirement truck and big 5er. Sitting on a great deal on a barely used 2018 Dodge 2500, but payload capacity is weak at about 2400 pounds, not really enough for a 36 or 38' 5er. Are air bags a viable solution, or keep shopping for a 1 ton?

[33 RLDS]

Air bags wont change the 2400 lbs. Keep looking !

[Cincinnati Kid]

We just got an F250 and a small 5th wheel, and we will be right at the payload limit when it's fully loaded. You won't want to pull a big 5th wheel with a 250. You will bust through your payload, and nothing you do to the truck can increase the payload. We're probably too old to think about our next 5th wheel, but if we were thinking about going bigger, a 1 ton dually would be the minimum for us.

[DrSmart]

I know how you feel. Our daily driver has been a Ram 3500 for about 15 years. An '04 Ram and now a 2014 Ram. Payload is about 4000lbs. If you're going to a large 5th wheel, IMO you should decide on a SRW or DRW based on loaded pin weight.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by 33 RLDS

Air bags wont change the 2400 lbs. Keep looking !

That is always a point of discussion.

As far as GM is concerned a 2500 and 3500 have exactly the same front and rear axles, brakes, and drive train the only differences are the rear springs and tire size. If you pull up all the GM build codes you can see that. So if you add a rear leaf and buy a higher load range tire you can increase the pay load. .

[Midnightmoon]

Your Ram 2500 will be on coils springs with that multi-link rear suspension where as a 3500 SRW will still be on traditional leaf springs. With that said, other than the rear suspension, there is absolutely no difference in the rest of your truck vs. a 3500 SRW. Brakes, axles, wheels, tires, etc. are identical.

On my generation of Ram the 2500 and 3500 were both on leaf springs and the only difference was the aux leaf in the back between the two trucks. That results in a huge grey area of capacity between the manufacturers listed GVWR and the actual vehicle axle capacity. I am certainly not telling you to tow/haul above manufacturers ratings, but know that the rest of the truck is certainly overbuilt for those numbers and capable of handling far more that the advertised payload.

[33 RLDS]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

That is always a point of discussion.

As far as GM is concerned a 2500 and 3500 have exactly the same front and rear axles, brakes, and drive train the only differences are the rear springs and tire size. If you pull up all the GM build codes you can see that. So if you add a rear leaf and buy a higher load range tire you can increase the pay load. .

Hes looking at a Dodge, not a GM

[spoon059]

OP, you've just opened a can of worms here...

There are 2 schools of thought. There is one side that says the little yellow sticker is the bible and you cannot exceed those weight ratings or your truck will explode and kill a bus full of nuns. There is another side that will point out that a 3/4 ton truck is arbitrarily limited to 10,000 lbs GVWR to keep in as a class 2B vehicle for registration purposes only.

I won't tell you what to think, but I will remind you that your 2018 Ram 2500 is the EXACT SAME TRUCK as a 2018 Ram 3500, with the exception of coil springs instead of leaf springs and minor frame differences to mount the coil springs. Engine, transmission, brakes, axles, wheels/tires (assuming 18" rims on your 2500), bolts, exhaust, seats, etc are EXACTLY THE SAME. The rear coil springs are rated to carry 500 lbs less than the leaf springs. Think about this... if you bought the 6.4 gas engine, magically your rear springs could hold 800 lbs MORE than you can since you have the Cummins. That should let you know that your truck is far more capable then 10,000 lbs, but it is limited simply because it was originally meant to be a class 2B truck, limited to 10,000 lbs.

In most every state in the union, you can register your truck for higher than 10,000 lbs if you want to pay the extra fees, and you will be perfectly legal to exceed the arbitrary 10,000 lbs number. There is virtually no mechanical difference between a 2500 and a single rear wheel (SRW) 3500... other than a 500 lbs difference in rear springs and slightly different frame (because of the different spring mount).

[Cincinnati Kid]

Originally Posted by spoon059

OP, you've just opened a can of worms here...

There are 2 schools of thought. There is one side that says the little yellow sticker is the bible and you cannot exceed those weight ratings or your truck will explode and kill a bus full of nuns. There is another side that will point out that a 3/4 ton truck is arbitrarily limited to 10,000 lbs GVWR to keep in as a class 2B vehicle for registration purposes only.

I won't tell you what to think, but I will remind you that your 2018 Ram 2500 is the EXACT SAME TRUCK as a 2018 Ram 3500, with the exception of coil springs instead of leaf springs and minor frame differences to mount the coil springs. Engine, transmission, brakes, axles, wheels/tires (assuming 18" rims on your 2500), bolts, exhaust, seats, etc are EXACTLY THE SAME. The rear coil springs are rated to carry 500 lbs less than the leaf springs. Think about this... if you bought the 6.4 gas engine, magically your rear springs could hold 800 lbs MORE than you can since you have the Cummins. That should let you know that your truck is far more capable then 10,000 lbs, but it is limited simply because it was originally meant to be a class 2B truck, limited to 10,000 lbs.

In most every state in the union, you can register your truck for higher than 10,000 lbs if you want to pay the extra fees, and you will be perfectly legal to exceed the arbitrary 10,000 lbs number. There is virtually no mechanical difference between a 2500 and a single rear wheel (SRW) 3500... other than a 500 lbs difference in rear springs and slightly different frame (because of the different spring mount).

Those nuns would rap your knuckles with a leaf spring for suggesting exceeding the posted numbers.

[bankr63]

Originally Posted by Cincinnati Kid

Those nuns would rap your knuckles with a leaf spring for suggesting exceeding the posted numbers.

They can't. They're all dead.

[Cincinnati Kid]

lol

[33 RLDS]

I'm not the weight police. Heck , my 2500 only has 1770 lbs of cargo so there are certainly times I am over weight. But if he is in a position to buy a new rig, it might as well be what he needs and not cut it close.

[Scott_Trailer_Newbe]

My 2500 is rated for 2450 cargo and 17,200 max, so 14,700 basically. Great truck for as much bumper pull as I want but not the best for a 5th wheel.

[Murff]

You can add 1000 things to make a truck handle more weight but the bottom line is what the manufacturer states.

Get the truck you need for the job and skip the "add-ons"!

Murff

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by 33 RLDS

Hes looking at a Dodge, not a GM

Midnightmoon just said basically the same thing about a Dodge.

"Your Ram 2500 will be on coils springs with that multi-link rear suspension where as a 3500 SRW will still be on traditional leaf springs. With that said, other than the rear suspension, there is absolutely no difference in the rest of your truck vs. a 3500 SRW. Brakes, axles, wheels, tires, etc. are identical."

[Tom51]

Thanks for the feedback. Subjects like these always get a lively conversation going. Still shopping!

[icr21801]

Originally Posted by Tom51

We're looking for our next truck, have been in an F350 for 15 years. Planning for retirement truck and big 5er. Sitting on a great deal on a barely used 2018 Dodge 2500, but payload capacity is weak at about 2400 pounds, not really enough for a 36 or 38' 5er. Are air bags a viable solution, or keep shopping for a 1 ton?

Absolutely not! Airbags do not increase your payload capacity.

[Mad5581]

Originally Posted by Tom51

We're looking for our next truck, have been in an F350 for 15 years. Planning for retirement truck and big 5er. Sitting on a great deal on a barely used 2018 Dodge 2500, but payload capacity is weak at about 2400 pounds, not really enough for a 36 or 38' 5er. Are air bags a viable solution, or keep shopping for a 1 ton?

Just my opinion.. so in my case I went with the 3500hd SRW. (Yes it's a gm). That said there are noticable differences between GM, Ram, and Ford. I opened to go with the SRW because I'm not a fan of dollies for daily drivers. I have many reasons for this not just looks and ride quality. Again back to your question. This simple answer is legally NO. The real world answer is kinda... so my 3500 SRW is rated for 3200lbs when fully loaded I'm at about 3300lbs. My truck handle the weight just fine without the airbags. It dose handle the weight much better with them.. so really the true answer is can you haul weight into the next class of truck just by adding overloads and or airbags? Sure but I wouldn't. Can you exceed your trucks capacity by adding some aftermarket goodies? Yep you sure can. My personal take on is if your within a few hundred pounds fully loaded with your 2500 go for it and add some help for your truck. If your well into the next class of truck then dont waist your money on upgrades spend it on the right truck for the job. Now the legal side is if you knowingly exceed your trucks capacity (example you have a 2500 ram rated for 2400lbs and you are pulling a 40 foot 5th wheel that its sticker says empty is 3100lbs you are negligent and most insurance companies are going to turn their back on you in the event of an accident). The otherside of the coin is whoever you wipe out with you will likely have a strong civil case against you. And depending on what state your in there could be a strong criminal case against you. At the end of the day you have 1 question is the deal on the 2500 ram worth the risk? So to answer your question again the stated limitations on the truck are what the manufacturer says it can safely handle day in and day out with little to no additional problems, and little to no change I how the truck handles. This dose not change with adding upgrades. I can personally tell you airbags are way nice but are not going to bridge a 1000 plus lb gap in capacity.

[garyp4951]

Get a dually, and get the FW you want.

[rfortune]

Swap to one ton leaf springs and 17” wheels with the appropriate load tire and you’ll have a one ton pickup.